Things For Kids To Do On Safari

With their reputation for intrepid, explorer-like adventure, tinged with the romance of a bygone era, wildlife safaris have traditionally been geared towards adults more than children. Fortunately for families, this attitude is now firmly outdated, and many superb lodges and camps now welcome young guests with open arms, rolling out a whole host of vibrant activities to keep them entertained! A number of safari operators have concocted some truly sensational child-friendly options, going the extra mile to ensure that young safarists are kept engaged and interested throughout their stay. Here are some of the stand-outs selected by our team.

1. Junior Ranger Programme

Some lodges have curated fun, action-packed programmes to inspire and motivate children on safari. Usually, kids receive a backpack on arrival, filled with goodies such as caps, T-shirts, and books. Your allocated safari guide will then tailor activities to the youngsters’ interests, helping them collect any items they need, answering their questions, and making fun tools for them to use out in the bush. At the end of the trip, each child becomes an official ‘Junior Ranger’, with some well-earned bragging rights to take home to their friends!

At Tswalu Kalahari, the Junior Ranger Programme has kids making their own bow and arrow, testing out their handiwork with archery lessons, then heading out on spoor identification and casting, as well as tracking wildlife on foot! This is all highly educational, and tremendous fun for children of all ages.

2. Micro safari

At times, it’s not easy for children to relate to big game animals on safari. Being confined to a vehicle is less than ideal for even the most patient kids! Yet it’s often the size, danger factor, and sense of the unknown that throws young safarists off track. This is where the micro safari excels, as it allows kids to walk around the camp/lodge in search of all sorts of weird and wonderful mini-creatures, including lizards, insects, snakes, and scorpions. By encountering these species up close and examining them under a magnifying glass, young minds can connect more tangibly with the natural world.

Londolozi’s Cubs program is a pure delight. Designed around the ‘Cub’s Den’, it features a fish pond for splashing in, Land Rovers to ‘drive’, camp-out tents for thrilling adventures, and an educational centre where wildlife takes centre stage. Here, little explorers can enjoy bug catching, dung spitting, and identifying species with a microscope and checklist in hand.

3. Bush Buddies

Wilderness has created a terrific ‘Bush Buddy’ learning program across the company’s Southern Africa lodges to engage the full spectrum of young guests.

This is a complimentary service where a ‘Bush Buddy’ joins your family at each Wilderness lodge, offering the kids mentorship and friendship. These key staff members have been trained in childcare and the educational aspects of looking after young ones in the bush. They devise special activities to keep the children entertained while their parents are out on game drives and provide insights into the natural environment, always ensuring safety is the priority. Early mealtimes or evening activities are easily arranged, which means parents can enjoy romantic dinners and some well-needed downtime, always with the reassurance that their children are in excellent hands!

4. Fishing

Fishing from Chongwe House in Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park is another great way to keep active young minds busy and absorbed. In fact, if there is a river or large dam nearby, chances are that most camps and lodges in this part of Africa will have fishing gear to hand and enthusiastic guides ready to help budding fishing fans make their first catch! Ideal for families, Chongwe House is situated in tiger fish country. It offers superb angling opportunities for kids to try their 10-to-2 cast along the Zambezi or even on the banks of the Chongwe River for bream.

5. Frogging at Phinda Game Reserve

Phinda is privately owned, so there’s plenty of freedom and flexibility in terms of tailoring activities for children and stepping away from the regular safari routine. The guides are also super-enthusiastic, an infectious trait! One of the activities is the amusingly named ‘frogging’, which introduces guests to up to 40 species of frog across Phinda Game Reserve’s seven different habitats. After dinner, young safarists head out with a wildlife guide to locate a small, shallow waterhole, before strapping on head torches and identifying as many frog species as they can! Since frogs are more active at night, we suggest this activity for slightly older kids with later bedtimes and those who don’t mind getting muddy. The best time for frogging is during the rainy season between November and March, when the damp climes are favoured by some brightly coloured, exotic species, such as the water lily frog, painted reed frog, and leaf-folding frog.

6. Archery

Some camps and lodges have a selection of bows and arrows so the kids can hone their archery skills. This is particularly popular with energetic young guests, as it gets the competitive juices flowing and sees them go head-to-head with other family members! But don’t worry – the arrow tips are blunt, to avoid any injuries.

At Sasaab Lodge in Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve, this activity is taken one step further. Children can head out into the bush with local Samburu guides, who’ll take them under their wing and teach them how to make traditional bows and arrows. Afterwards, they’ll be taught how to aim and shoot the arrows at targets before taking part in the Samburu Olympics, which includes javelins and rungu throwing as well.

7. Plaster-casting tracks

Tuningi Safari Lodge is a brilliant, family-friendly property where children learn interactively about wildlife tracking. If they encounter any exciting tracks in the mud or sand, they can make an exact replica and inscribe their name on the plaster plate. Lion, leopard, cheetah, or hyena tracks tend to work best, and make amazing keepsakes! As well as plaster casting, kids can go on shorter ‘bumble’ game drives and treasure hunts, as well as trying their hand at clay modeling.

8. Cooking up a storm

At some safari lodges, the chefs are more than happy to let the children into the kitchen. One such property is El Karama in Kenya, where kids are encouraged to learn the art of baking by making dozens of animal-shaped cookies and cakes. They can even create their own pizzas from scratch and devise an entire menu of their own! All the produce is sourced from the conservancy’s own vegetable garden, where kids can help pick fresh veggies and even meet the small farm animals. El Karama is owned and run by the Grant family, whose own children are growing up at the lodge, so whether it’s playtime in the kitchen or on the farm, you can be assured there are plenty of activities to keep kids entertained!

We hope these ideas fill you with inspiration as you start planning your next family safari adventure.

For more great tips and ideas, take a look at our ‘Top 10 Family Lodges’ and uncover our most highly recommended family-friendly stays.